More Than Tech

I took up martial arts when I was 19 and had some early success in competitions, but I put none of my success down to natural ability, it was a function of determination, willingness to learn and the fact that I was fortunate enough to have some wonderful teachers and role models. One of my best friends competed in the Seoul Olympics and he infected me with his endless determination, positivity and humility. Perseverance Fixes Everything! Martial arts require the practitioner to learn new movements and techniques, some of which are complex and in even un-natural. The idea of getting your foot above your head isn’t something most people think about let alone practice! These techniques are mastered through repetition and perseverance. If you work hard and keep at it, you will improve. It’s such a cliché but its at the core of my belief system. There is nothing that cannot be improved with hard work and perseverance. My favorite technique in TaeKwonDo competitions was my trust...

If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs...Rudyard Kipling Most people do not perform well under pressure but I believe its a skill that can be learned and developed. In the 80's and 90's I was a competitive full contact martial artist. I learned about pressure by getting in the ring with other highly trained martial artists who were completely focused on hurting me and trying to knock me out! I was fascinated to see how some competitors performed better under pressure and others crumbled. I wanted to learn how I could get the best out of myself at the most important time, something I always admired in others. All of my sporting heroes were always capable of digging deep and finding something inside themselves when they most needed it. We can all learn to perform under pressure. How Pressure Affects Our Brains The cerebral cortex is the area of the brain responsible for the higher functions such as reasoning and logic but an evolutionary older pa...

This is a fantastic book. Its concept is that we spend too much time addressing our weaknesses and we should instead, spend more time developing our strengths. There is a brief introduction, which you should read first, then take the test. The book comes with a code and a website, take the test and it will tell you your top 5 skills! The rest of the book explains what each skill means so that you can better understand you’re your strengths and what they mean. Its fun and it will help you get to know yourself better! You can buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/StrengthsFinder-2-0-Tom-Rath/dp/159562015X